Sponsoring:

From: Mike Harrison
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I'm looking to update my not so smart motion detectors (outside and
inside) and light switches / outlets with something more modern.
I'm suprised to see the "Bottle Rocket" and X-10.com
stuff still seems to be one of the better ways to do this "easily".
the Insteon stuff looks interesting, might support both
X10 and Insteon protocol (Power Line Carrier and RF)
with the right hardware.
I'm not looking to do a "Home Media Center" type system
with lots of fancy controls.. More like fairly smart
automatic system running on a repurposed atom notebook
that will just do what I want it to automatically,
with some override capabilitiy when I want it.
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Mike Harrison bogon@geeklabs.com cell: 423.605.6943

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From: Phil Sieg
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I am using some wifi enabled stuff that has "apps" to manage it.
IP Cams, and IP thermostats. The ability to control the thermostat from my phone is my FAVORITE recent upgrade to my house. Stat's were $100 each for my house at Home depot. Very Sweet!
\
Phil Sieg
President
SeniorTech LLC / Snapfon
www.snapfon.com
B: 423.535.9968
F: 423.265.9820
M: 423.331.0725
phil.sieg@seniortechllc.com

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From: Mike Harrison
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Pciked up a serious IP camera today while hanging at the Estate of
Confusion on 301 East Main. Paid $20 for one of these:
http://www.dvtel.com/products/edge-devices/network-cameras/altitude-hd-classic-cm3100
In a serious external metal housing.
Time to add some image capture to that little
Linux home automation system.

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From: Jason Brown
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If he has more of those cameras, I will take 8 or so ;)
I am really interested in the HA thing, been waiting for the cost of 7"
tablets to drop enough to put one on the wall in each room for sensors
and interface control. I think we are close to that.
The best open source back end package I have found to date is
MisterHouse. I have not actually used it yet but it seems perfectly
hackable to me.
http://misterhouse.sourceforge.net/
This is the kind of thing I would love to work on with a team of people.
Maybe a good ChattLab project once we start getting off the ground.
--Jason

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From: Ed King
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I tore down my home automation system after watching the 1977 movie: Demon Seed

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From: Mike Harrison
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I have dibs.. I may need one more, then you can have the rest.
They are a little older that the current generation, but sold not long ago
for more than $2k each.
Mine is an odd beast, 24vac power, and selectable (dip switch) protocols
for camera control including some "standards" I'd never heard of. First I
need a 50watt capable 24vac transformer... and then some time to see if I
can control the rotation, tilt, zoom, etc.. from a Linux system without
special software. These seems to be some Linux support from DVTEL
but buried into some commercial products offerings.
On the good side, I needed something a little different from my normal
fare to chew on.. Cooler weather is approaching.. Need to clean out my
garage so I can play there instead of the kichen table.